The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1) face their final pre-Big Ten road test when they take on the South Carolina Gamecocks (4-5) out of the SEC on Saturday.
The Buckeyes expect a big effort from forward Jared Sullinger after the All-American forward returned to action on Wednesday after missing two weeks with bothersome back spasms. Sullinger leads the Ohio State attack, scoring 18.2 points per game, with William Buford and Deshaun Thomas pitching in 16.3 and 14.5 points per game, respectively.
The Gamecocks are struggling for quality wins, beating rival Clemson 58-55 for their most-impressive win so far this season. Sophomore point guard Bruce Ellington helps speed up the tempo for South Carolina as he will be playing just his fourth game after playing wide receiver on the football team this year. Senior forward Malik Cooke leads the Gamecocks in scoring with 12.2 points per game.
Here are the game details:
Game time: Saturday, December 17th; 12:00 p.m.
Where: The Colonial Life Arena; Columbia, SC
Television: ESPN
Radio: WBNS FM-97.1 AM-1460